Hall Franklin Overton (February 23, 1920 – November 24, 1972) was an American composer, jazz pianist and music teacher. He was born in

Bangor, Michigan Bangor is a city in Van Buren County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,885 at the 2010 census. The city is located in the northeast corner of Bangor Township, but is politically independent. It was first organized as a town ...

, the first of the three sons of Stanford and Ruth (Barnes) Overton. He grew up in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

Life

After taking

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

lessons as a youngster, Overton realized he'd have to travel beyond his small Midwestern town to find the kind of

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

instruction he wanted. His high school music teacher recognized Overton's gift and recommended he attend The

Chicago Musical College Chicago Musical College is a division of the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. History Founding Dr. Florenz Ziegfeld Sr (1841–1923), founded the college in 1867 as the Chicago Academy of Music. The institution h ...

after graduation. Overton studied theory and composition there from 1940 to 1942. He then entered the armed services and served in overseas combat duty with the

U.S. 3rd Armored Division The 3rd Armored Division (also known as "Spearhead", 3rd Armored, and 3AD) was an armored division of the United States Army. Unofficially nicknamed the "Third Herd," the division was first activated in 1941 and was active in the European Theat ...

until 1945. It was during his time in the service that he learned to play

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

. On discharge from the army, Overton continued his musical studies at The

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most elit ...

, studying composition with

Vincent Persichetti Vincent Ludwig Persichetti (June 6, 1915 – August 14, 1987) was an American composer, teacher, and pianist. An important musical educator and writer, he was known for his integration of various new ideas in musical composition into his own wo ...

. He graduated in 1951 with an M.S. degree, then became a member of the faculty there. In 1954 Overton moved into a New York City loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, known as the Jazz Loft, where he lived alongside legendary photographer

W. Eugene Smith William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978) was an American photojournalist.Peacock, Scot. "W(illiam) Eugene Smith." ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2003. ''Biography In Context'' He has been described as "perhaps the si ...

, musicians

Dick Cary Richard Durant Cary (July 10, 1916 – April 6, 1994) was an American jazz trumpeter, composer and arranger. He was born in Hartford, Connecticut, United States. Cary earned a bachelor's degree in music from Wesleyan University in 1938 and start ...

and Jimmy Stevenson, painte
David X. Young
and other established and rising musicians and artists. This provided the perfect setting for the musicians to

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

and learn together. Smith recorded many of these sessions, which were released in October 2000 as part of the

Jazz Loft Project William Eugene Smith (December 30, 1918 – October 15, 1978) was an American Photojournalism, photojournalist.Peacock, Scot. "W(illiam) Eugene Smith." ''Contemporary Authors Online'', Gale, 2003. ''Biography In Context'' He has been described as ...

, a large ongoing project involving Smith's photos and tapes from that period. While Overton was writing classical compositions, he was also deeply immersed in jazz, and recorded with such jazz notables as

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

, Duke Jordan,

Jimmy Raney James Elbert Raney (August 20, 1927 – May 10, 1995) was an American jazz guitarist, born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, known for his work from 1951 to 1952 and then from 1953 to 1954 with the Red Norvo trio (replacing Tal Farlow) and ...

and

Teddy Charles Teddy Charles (April 13, 1928 – April 16, 2012) was an American jazz musician and composer, whose instruments were the vibraphone, piano, and drums. Career Born Theodore Charles Cohen in Chicopee Falls, Massachusetts, United States, he s ...

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

selected him to score his piano works for orchestra; a performance of these compositions in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

was recorded live on February 28, 1959 and released on the album ''

The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall ''The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall'' is an album by Thelonious Monk, released in 1959. The concert included Hall Overton’s arrangements on Monk’s tunes (including a transcription of Monk's piano solo on "Little Rootie Tootie"). The ...

''. In 1963, Monk recorded a second live album with orchestral arrangements by Overton at the New York Philharmonic Hall, released as ''

Big Band and Quartet in Concert ''Big Band and Quartet in Concert'' is the fifth album Thelonious Monk released for Columbia Records, featuring several Monk compositions. It was recorded live at Lincoln Center, Philharmonic Hall, New York, New York on December 30, 1963. It wa ...

''. In later years, Overton taught at the Yale School of Music and the

New School of Social Research The New School is a private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for progressive thinkers. ...

. He received awards from The Koussevitzky Foundation and the

John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation was founded in 1925 by Olga and Simon Guggenheim in memory of their son, who died on April 26, 1922. The organization awards Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been ...

Death

Overton died on November 24, 1972, aged 52, from cirrhosis of the liver. A little more than a year earlier, on May 20, 1971, his opera '' Huckleberry Finn'', commissioned by the Barney Jaffin Foundation, was presented by The Juilliard Opera Company."Hall Overton Attempts Opera About Huck Finn", by Raymond Ericson, ''The New York Times'', May 22, 1971, p. 19

Family

Overton married Nancy Swain (1926–2009) in 1949, with whom he had two sons, Richard Adair (Rick) Overton and Steven Swain Overton.

Comments

About his music, Hall Overton said,

Compositions

at least 2 symphonies, the 2nd (composed in 1962) is a contemporary work c.15 minutes long. * also, at least 2 string quartets. * Three Elizabethan Songs (1953). * "Pulsations" for mixed ensemble. * sonata for Viola & Piano (1960). * sonata for 'Cello & Piano (1960). * and many more

Discography

As leader

* ''Jazz Laboratory Series Vol. 2'' (Signal, 1955) * ''Second String Quartet/String Quartet'' with Ezra Laderman (CRI, 1959) * ''Dual Piano Jazz'' with Dave McKenna (Bethlehem, 1960) * ''Pulsations/In Praise of Diplomacy and Common Sense'' with Lester Trimble (CRI, 1972)

As sideman

With

* ''New Directions'' (Prestige, 1954) * ''The Teddy Charles Tentet'' (Atlantic, 1956) * ''3 for Duke'' (Jubilee, 1957) * ''

Word from Bird ''Word from Bird'' is an album by American jazz vibraphonist Teddy Charles released on the Atlantic label in 1957.Cohen, N.The Teddy Charles Discographyaccessed September 8, 2015 Reception Allmusic calls the album "enjoyable". Track listing '' ...

'' (Atlantic, 1957) With

* ''Jimmy Raney Plays'' (Prestige, 1953) * ''Jimmy Raney Quartet Featuring Hal Overton'' (New Jazz, 1954) * ''Jimmy Raney Quartet Hifi Vol. 2'' (New Jazz, 1954) * ''Jimmy Raney 1955'' (Prestige, 1955) * ''Jimmy Raney in Three Attitudes'' (ABC-Paramount, 1957) * ''The Fourmost Guitars'' with Chuck Wayne, Joe Puma, Dick Garcia (ABC-Paramount, 1957) * '' A'' (Prestige, 1958) With others *

, ''Early Stan'' (Prestige, 1963) * Duke Jordan & Hall Overton, ''Jazz Laboratory Series'' (Arista, 1981) *

Aaron Sachs Aaron Sachs (July 4, 1923 – June 5, 2014) was an American jazz saxophone and clarinet player. Career A native of New York City, Sachs began his music career as a young swing protégé of Benny Goodman, and later eased into bebop music, also ...

, ''Clarinet and Co.'' (Fresh Sound, 1957) * Phil Woods, ''Bird Calls Vol. 1'' (Savoy, 1987)

References

External links

"Hall Overton, Composer"
by Ethan Iverson

{{DEFAULTSORT:Overton, Hall 1920 births 1972 deaths Jazz musicians from Michigan People from Bangor, Michigan 20th-century American composers 20th-century American pianists 20th-century classical composers American classical composers American jazz composers American jazz pianists American male classical composers American male pianists United States Army personnel of World War II Chicago Musical College alumni Deaths from cirrhosis Juilliard School alumni Juilliard School faculty American male jazz composers Pupils of Darius Milhaud Savoy Records artists The New School faculty Yale School of Music faculty 20th-century jazz composers 20th-century American male musicians Jazz musicians from New York (state)